


mistletoe (and other reasons to kiss you more often)

by wildflower (bangtrashsyd)



Series: minimalist memoirs [11]
Category: NU'EST, Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M, Mistletoe, References to Norse Religion & Lore, Reincarnation - Hinted, slight angst with a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2017-12-13
Packaged: 2019-02-14 07:38:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13002984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bangtrashsyd/pseuds/wildflower
Summary: a thousand years doesn't really make a difference when it comes to minhyun, jonghyun and mistletoe. except if you count the one time minhyun died. (but he came back, so that evens things out.)





	mistletoe (and other reasons to kiss you more often)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [childofhades](https://archiveofourown.org/users/childofhades/gifts).



> for [cey](https://twitter.com/nuestzen/status/940880290788139008) (@nuestzen on twitter)  
> "❄️❄️ an au where minhyun puts "mistletoe" in every part of his and jonghyun's apartment just so he has a reason to kiss him ❄️❄️"  
> i nyoomed through this in an hour bc i loved the prompt so much so thank you cey for it!!

**YEAR 450**

**JONGHYUN**

“Sire, your husband Lord Minhyun-”

At the sound of the servant’s voice, Jonghyun rises to his feet, the silk hem of his tunic brushing against his slacks. Minhyun’s been away for far too long; he was only supposed to be out for a few days, not a week.

“What of him?” He demands, and the servant bows deferentially once more before opening her mouth.

“He was shot by a mistletoe arrow in the chest and passed in battle.” She says in sorrow, and he stumbles back, putting a hand on the table to steady himself. It is not possible- Minhyun was blessed by the Goddess  Freyja  herself! He’s always had luck on his side- Jonghyun clenches his fist. 

 

“You’ll be safe, yes?” He asks, cheek pressed against Minhyun’s shoulder. The man smiles and turns his head to press his lips to the crown of his head, and the peck warms him to his toes. Outside, the snow has begun to coat the rooftops of the houses, and snowflakes drift through the air.

“You see these snowflakes, Jonghyun?” Minhyun inquires, holding out his hand. A snowflakes lands in it, and they look on as it dissolves back into water. “I’ll be back before the snowflakes stop. Don’t worry.”

 

_ Don’t worry.  _ The promise rings in his head, his chest, his heart. He seizes his treasured bow and arrow off its hook, striding towards the doorway. Briefly, he registers that it isn’t snowing anymore. Impatiently, he yanks open the cloth door of his tent and breaks into a jog as he makes his way towards his horse. The mare with the white star on her head nickers softly as he approaches, and he swings himself up onto her.

“Sire!” The servant runs out off the tent, and he turns away from her panicked expression. There is only one thing, one thoughts, one  _ person,  _ on his mind right now. He clicks his heels against the horse’s body and nudges her into a gallop, out of the village and into the dark wilderness of the forest beyond. He leads her between the trees, following the beaten path his warriors must have taken. A blur distracts him- There’s a shadow moving towards them, and fast. He presses his body to the mare’s, clicking his heels more insistently. 

The shadow belongs to Minhyun’s steed, the proud, black stallion that took his husband  _ years  _ to tame. He dismounts and walks forward to him, and the horse tosses his head and brays impatiently. A hand- is it his?- reaches forward and touches his forehead. 

“Take me to your master,” he whispers, “please.”

The horse bucks, trotting away from his palm before coming forward again to nuzzle against his hand. He smiles, and grabs the saddle, hoisting himself onto it. 

“Alva!” He calls out to his mare. “Go home!” The mare steps forward almost in protest, then turns and disappears beyond the trees. Below, the stallion harrumphs. His face feels impossibly frozen- Is he crying? He touches a hand to his face and his skin feels bumpy- his tears have turned to ice. He bends low, wrapping his arms around the stallion’s thick neck.

“Go.” He commands, clicking his heels, and the stallion takes off at a wild gallop.

 

**YEAR 2024**

**MINHYUN**

In the midst of his shovelling, he pauses to take a break, observing the state of their driveway. Most of the snow’s been cleared away, and the ice beneath it has begun to melt- thank God- from the full power of the sun rays. He shifts his weight, yelping when he slides around a bit. The spikes on his shoes are pretty useless, he complains internally. 

Jonghyun better be happy with all this work he’s put in, he continues, bending down again to shovel some more snow. The other’s been out of the city in Japan doing the choreography for some Japanese debut. Meanwhile  _ he’s  _ been alone in Seoul City finishing up the composing work for Pristin’s next comeback. They’re aiming for a late January comeback, and Jonghyun has to do the choreography for them along with Nayoung and Kyulkyung. He frowns at that- Jonghyun’s been working so much.

_ He’s relieved he gets to work,  _ his brain reminds him, and he curls his lip. His phone buzzes against his stomach, where he’s put it in the pocket of his favourite hoodie.

“Hey, Minhyun!” Someone’s car stops right outside the fence and shouts at him. He wipes at his forehead and stumbles ungracefully to the gate. It’s Seongwoo, with Jihoon in the passenger seat. “You want mistletoe?”

The question stupefies him.

“What for?” He inquires, curious. Jihoon reaches out to slap Seongwoo’s head into the headrest so he can see him. The older sputters with indignation.

“So you can kiss Jonghyun-hyung a lot.” He deadpans, and Seongwoo nods encouragingly.

“Where did you even get-” Minhyun cuts himself off when he sees their guilty expressions. “Nevermind. Open the carboot.”

“Yes, sir.” Seongwoo sings, reaching down. Minhyun holds on the car and thanks God he put on gloves- His hands would stick to the metal otherwise. Very quickly, he opens the carboot and takes out the box, waddling back to wave goodbye to the two before closing the gate. He slides back to his front door and props the box against his hip, using one hand to open the door. He kicks off his snow boots and slips into his house slippers, then puts the box on the dining table. When he opens it, the springs of green reach up violently to slap him in the face.

_ “Ow.”  _ He complains, reaching in to observe a handful. There are little white berries on the branches, and he rubs at his chest when a phantom of pain shoots through his heart. Now, how is he going to put these up? He walks to the utility cupboard and unearths a forgotten ball of twine, then comes back to the box.

“I’ll tie these up wherever I can,” he decides, then remembers, “oh right, scissors.”

 

The doorbell rings, and he scrambles upright from his very comfortable seat on the couch to run to the door. He yanks it open with a huge grin-

-and there’s Jonghyun, smiling brightly back at him.

“I’m home.” His boyfriend says, hefting his luggage over the threshold and stepping into his open arms. Minhyun hugs him tight, wrapping one arm around his waist and bringing the other hand to cradle his head before letting him in. “I brought leftovers”- Minhyun interrupts him by grabbing onto his hand- “-what?”

“Mistletoe.” He points to the branch hanging above the front door, and Jonghyun huffs out an amused laugh. “Come on, it’s tradition-”

Jonghyun shakes off his grip and brings both hands to his cheeks, tip toeing so he can reach him and kiss him properly. He tastes like vanilla and biscuits- Jonghyun drops back to his heels and grins.

“You’ve been eating those Japanese biscuits again.” Is the first thing that he says, before he shakes his head, stunned. “I’ve missed you.”

“Yeah, and the biscuits too, haven’t you?” Jonghyun teases, kicking his ankle before yanking off his boots and setting them to the side of the door. “Where are my slippers?”

“Shoe cabinet.” He says absently with a stupid smile on his face. “Did you get dinner?”

“Yes, my incapable boyfriend.” He can hear the eyeroll in his voice, even if they’re not facing each other. “I’ll go heat it up.”

“Okay.” He chirps a little too cheerfully, and Jonghyun turns to face him with narrowed eyes. 

“Why are you so happy?” He asks suspiciously. Minhyun smiles even more stupidly than he thinks is possible.

“I’m glad you’re back.” He murmurs, and Jonghyun’s eyes go soft.

“Me too, Minhyun-ah.” He replies, then takes the plastic bag strung onto the handle of his luggage. “Be right back.”

“Wait!” He calls when the man reaches the kitchen doorway, and walks over quickly. Jonghyun looks up at him impatiently, complaining he’s hungry. “Sorry, just- Mistletoe.”

Jonghyun looks up and rolls his eyes at the shrub, beginning to turn away. Minhyun stops him with a gentle hand on his shoulder and turns him to face him, bending down to press a long, slow kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. Jonghyun gasps a little bit, and Minhyun grins. When he leans away, Jonghyun chases his lips, then jerks away, looking very ruffled.

“You’re doing this on purpose.” He accuses, and Minhyun grins even harder.

“You can tell me to stop.” There’s a note of teasing in his voice, and he’s pleased when the flush spreads from Jonghyun’s cheeks up to his ears. “Do you want me to stop, Jonghyun-ie?” The other denies him a response and walks into the kitchen. 

 

After dinner and catch up, Minhyun helps to wash the dishes while Jonghyun unloads his laundry into the washing machine. 

“We can turn it on tomorrow morning.” He calls, rinsing the soap off the last plate. “It’s too late to get anything dry.”

“We have a  _ dryer.”  _ Jonghyun protests, then sighs. “Fine.” 

Minhyun puts the plate up to dry, then speaks again, “I’ll run a hot bath for you.”

Jonghyun hums in acknowledgement and he scampers to the bathroom to run the hot water. Jonghyun comes around a little later, watching him dip his hand into the water to check the temperature.

“All done.” He says, wiping his hand on his sweatpants. Jonghyun smiles warmly and takes off his shirt, but he interrupts him again by pointing to the showerhead. “Look, mistletoe.”

“You’re really hopeless.” Jonghyun says flatly, reaching a hand out to grip his hair and pull him down for a single peck before kicking him out of the bathroom. “I haven’t showered in sixteen hours, for God’s sake!”

He stumbles out of there and bangs into the doorframe, turning to shoot Jonghyun a pitiful look, but the other just slams the door to the bathroom in his face. Minhyun frowns and sits down at the door.

It’s nearly twenty minutes later when Jonghyun comes out again, fully clothed. He jerks awake when a warm hand rests against his cheek.

“Why are you waiting out here?” His boyfriend asks curiously. He smiles sleepily and tugs on his hand, forcing him to squat down next to him.

“Mistletoe.” He mumbles, and Jonghyun sighs, the hot breath fluttering across his face. He puckers up for a kiss, and Jonghyun grants him a slow, sweet one. He falls asleep in the middle of it, waking up when Jonghyun giggles against his lips.

“Poor Minhyun-ie,” he chuckles, “you’re really tired, huh?”

“Shovelled the snow out of the way and cleaned today.” Minhyun warbles with his eyes still closed. He hears a sigh and stands when Jonghyun helps him up, wincing at the creak in his bones. They make their way almost drunkenly to the bed, and Jonghyun tosses his towel onto the floor before diving beneath the duvet. Minhyun pens down a mental note to scold him for that tomorrow morning and promptly forgets it, sliding beneath the heavy blankets. A hand finds his under the duvet- it’s warm, and comforting.

He’s missed this- the easy way he falls asleep with someone by his side. Jonghyun snuggles up to his chest and buries his head into his collarbone, hefting his leg up to help roll him over so he can be the small spoon-

“Wait, wait, wait-” He pushes back against the force and Jonghyun makes a sad, disappointed sound that might have rendered him speechless for a few seconds. “There’s mistletoe on the ceiling fan-”

“You cheesy asshole.” Jonghyun’s eyes are dark, and he laughs, rolling on top of him and bracing his weight on his forearms placed next to Jonghyun’s head. Slowly, he leans down, and Minhyun meets him halfway into the kiss. Jonghyun’s hand wrap lazily around his waist, then he shoves him off, mumbling, “Bloody hell, you’re heavy.”

This time, he allows himself to be turned on his side, and Jonghyun makes him the small spoon. Thoroughly satisfied, he drifts off to sleep. 

 

“Morning,” he tells Jonghyun. The other’s breathing pattern has quickened, which means he’s awake. He stirs, then opens his eyes. Minhyun offers a wry twist of his lips. “I really need to shower, so if you don’t mind-”

Jonghyun’s eyes are glazed over with sleep, and he shuffles closer to him to press a kiss to his forehead. It’s impossibly soft and gentle, the contact just a mere brush that warms him to his toes.

“Merry Christmas, Minhyun-ah.” He murmurs, and Minhyun smiles softly, reaching a hand out to cradle his cheek.

“Merry Christmas, Jonghyun-ah.”

 

**YEAR 450**

**JONGHYUN**

It is true- Minhyun is dead.

Jonghyun lays trembling fingers on his cheek and retracts them quickly. The skin of Minhyun’s cheeks have always been warm, but now they are cold. He sinks to his knees next to the body and weeps softly into it.

Above him, his warriors walk away to give him privacy. His tears drip down onto the arrow, and something wet touches his neck. He looks up- the snowflakes have begun to fall again. 

_ I’ll be back before the snowflakes stop. _

Something is happening to the arrow: green spreads up the dead leaves and white berries form on the branch. He reaches out and , although every single cell in his body tells him not to, pulls the arrow from Minhyun’s chest. Strangely, the wound doesn’t bleed and he watches with horrified fascination as the wound heals itself, skin stretching over the hole. 

Minhyun gasps, his entire body jerks up. Jonghyun shrieks and scrambles back, but Minhyun turns his head to look at him and stops him with a single look.

“I was dead.” He says simply, and he moves forward to seize his cheek. It’s warm, hot even.

“You came back.” He replies distantly, and Minhyun’s thumb reaches up to smooth away his tears. 

“I came back.” He echoes, and Jonghyun clutches the sprig of mistletoe even tighter, leaning in to kiss him desperately.

**Author's Note:**

> why did i include the death scene? ok so i searched up why people kiss each other under mistletoe and a website said that it came from Norse mythology: ["According to happier versions of the legend, Baldur (sometimes spelled Baldr or Balder) was killed by an enemy's arrow made of mistletoe. His mother, the goddess Frigg, wept tears onto the arrow. Her tears turned into white berries that she placed onto Baldur's wound, bringing him back to life. Overjoyed, Frigg blessed the mistletoe plant and promised a kiss to all who passed beneath it."](https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-do-people-kiss-under-mistletoe) and i thought hey let's put a 2hyun spin on it and boom
> 
> comment below please! :-)


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